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Naturalists

When I took the job at the Stanley Museum, I never expected that I would be using my geology knowledge as much as I have this summer. I expected to enlighten folks with information regarding the mining in the Stanley Basin and up the Yankee Fork, but little did I know that I would use […]

We are on an adventure. Mom says our adventure today will take us to Lady Face Falls. We finally pull into a parking lot and I can see where we will start our journey. But first, sunscreen and bug spray. Mom pulls my tight curls into a pony tail and pulls it through a ball […]

Poking my head out of my hiding place, I look around at the gradually darkening world. This is just the way I like it. Everything starts getting quiet around this time. The animals awake during the bright light start moving towards their own dens and make way for me to come out. The cold powder […]

While growing up in Western New York there was no such thing as “fire season” and wildfires were far from anyone’s minds. After moving to the west I quickly learned that fire season is a very real thing and wildfires will always be a part of life here. While living here in Idaho it’s been […]

On a calm morning, near the edge of a high alpine lake in the Sawtooth wilderness, I have found a sense of freedom and awe at the happenings around me. It is inspiring to watch the many plants and animals gathering their breakfast and starting their day, as am I. I can’t help but feel […]

It has been quite the experience living in Stanley, Idaho this summer. Stanley’s Sawtooth National Park is a beautiful and hidden gem inside the Gem State! The park has three separate entrances. One from Highway 21 and the two other entrances are on Highway 75. When visitors arrive to the park, they are treated with spectacular […]

The wild, glaciated, granite wonderland of the Sawtooth batholith soars above Stanley. Waking up each morning and going to bed each night under a sky soaked in oranges, pinks, and purples, the mountains have become my constant companions and my favorite playground. I’ve delighted in the bone chilling bliss of alpine lakes and the instantly […]

Its 4:45 pm and I find myself half walking, half running through the crowds of people at Redfish Lodge in an effort to catch the 5 o’clock shuttle across the lake. I make it just in time to hop on the boat with a few other hikers. We exchange a few words about our plans […]

Mist crossing Redfish Lake, grebe and merganser skating across the water, bird’s chorus, and the glass reflection of a calm lake. This is what greets you at dawn at Redfish and inspires not only my love of birds, but of photography. No two days are the same; each brings another way to capture the beauty […]

Our van whined in the December twilight as it struggled to carry eight riders and a month’s worth of supplies on the road that wound its way up Galena Summit. It was a moment full of anticipation: I was anxious to see the Sawtooth Valley hidden on the other side. My father called it […]